


meanwhile the world goes on

by primaveril



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, another one of my word vomits, i wrote this in one sitting, there's really not much to this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27601177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/primaveril/pseuds/primaveril
Summary: Mark brings summer warmth and August rains to Donghyuck’s life.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	meanwhile the world goes on

**Author's Note:**

> hello! it’s primaveril here! you might know me as y0ukai, though ^^ i decided a change was needed, for one reason or another.  
> i hope you enjoy this literal word vomit i wrote in one sitting after listening to a few mother mother songs and reading lovesick poems on my [poetry and inspiration blog](https://quietlygentle.tumblr.com)  
> \+ title belongs to mary oliver’s “wild geese.”

As the sky falls to a thundering gray, as the world slowly loses contrast and the clouds devour the sun entirely, depriving everything of warmth, Donghyuck thrives.

He’s got the smile of a fox, cunning and whimsical, eyes glowing with mirth as he watches Mark fumble around with his words, nothings with too much meaning mixing with everythings the older’s been stewing in for months that don’t actually matter at all, tongue-tied and pink-cheeked as he always is, especially when it comes to his best friend of years. He’s too shy for his own good, too tender-hearted and tight-lipped when it comes to Donghyuck and this  _ thing _ they’ve got going on ever since they discovered that their skin touching feels too close to Heaven to be ignored, and the younger thinks it’s endearing, even if frustratingly slow sometimes. 

Mark chokes up on his confession twice, hands trembling and eyes trembling and back stiff, legs curled around themselves like a labyrinth’s walls on the bed they’ve shared for countless nights in a row, even if it’s too small for their long dancer limbs and wide boyish shoulders, even if Donghyuck cracks himself in pieces to fit between his best friend’s arms. He’s breathing too shallowly, he’s scared of absolutely nothing at all and of the boy he’s loved since he was fifteen, terrified of the boy he’s cradled through sleepless dawns and that has fed him at ungodly hours in the morning out of nothing but the kindness of his heart. It’s endearing, too, to think Mark Lee fears his best friend’s words more than he has ever feared their teachers during tough pre-debut days, like he matters more than the dream they’ve all been chasing for years.

“Hey,” Donghyuck breaks the pregnant silence between them, voice unwavering, hands warm, face warm, mouth sticky with something he doesn’t want to name just yet. It feels a lot like honey, like morning dew and the light that filters through the curtains of his bedroom, hazy and soft and gentle. Mark doesn’t dare look up, tightening his hold on the ends of his hoodie, bracing himself for whatever’s going to come, like a man ready for the noose. “I like you, too. Have liked for a long time.”

It’s like the Universe sucks in a breath, clouds holding together tightly and painting the world in their looming shadows right before parting, revealing the tendermost sunlight and merciful warmth, and Mark freezes; Donghyuck is ever-patient, eyes always smiling quietly. The skin around his eyes relaxes little by little as he swallows the younger’s confession, understands every word and the weight between them, hope and relief growing and making space inside his body, chest caving in to release a breath and every wrong feeling that was locked within it. He lifts his head, always timidly but oh so bright, so summery, like cold apples and kisses under fragrant trees. Donghyuck can’t hold his smile, not when his best friend is so beautiful, so sunny, so precious, and can’t hold himself back from reaching out to him, hands finding the skin of his forearm and the downy hairs that come with it, caressing him, reassuring that  _ yes, it’s alright, it’s really alright, _ because he knows Mark needs reassurance whenever he can get it.

The older’s face is watercolor-red and deliciously happy, eyes like deep wells, glittering with stars sticking to their surface, and maybe Donghyuck knows what to name the feeling coating the insides of his ribcage and making his mouth so sweet. “Kiss me?”

Mark nods, gaze flitting to his best friend’s lips as he nears, cupping his cheek like he’s made of light and vapor (and in a way, he really is, legs numb and fingertips electric), heart rabbit-thumping against his chest like it wants desperately to bury itself in Donghyuck skin.

It shouldn’t feel as magic as it does, it shouldn’t feel as exhilarating as it does, but Mark kisses shyly at first, mouth warm, lips bitten-wet, and he tastes of nervousness and salt and  _ boy,  _ pressing against the plumpness of Donghyuck’s mouth like he’s afraid he’ll hurt him. The younger sighs, melting all over like a popsicle in the June heat, and kisses him back with transparent want, hands coming to hold the back of his neck and tug him closer, fingers finding the curls of angel hair hidden from the world at Mark’s nape. The older understands without words, like he always does, and mouths hotly at Donghyuck’s bottom lip until he’s opening up to let him suckle on it, pulling it into his mouth like a bite of tangerine in the summer, like he tastes of candy and sugar and freedom. He’s waited for this for so long, aching teeth and tongue for a sip of Mark’s essence, and now that he has it it’s even better than he expected, whimpering as he feels the older’s warm hands holding him tightly, close enough to share body heat.

They fall into a steady stick-release of their lips, completely addicted and heads fuzzy, the sound of their mouths parting making their bones sing with contentment, and it’s sickening how happiness bubbles inside their chests each time they pull closer and suck on their swollen mouths like they’ve been starved of this for years. It’s cold outside but Donghyuck feels himself burning up, cheeks flushed and neck pink, gently tugging on Mark’s hair and panting as the older grunts, something raw and beautiful that’ll haunt the younger’s dreams for weeks on end.

They barely notice how tangled they’ve gotten in the euphoria of reciprocation that Donghyuck only smiles when he finds he’s sitting on the older’s lap, thighs squeezing his sides like he’ll fuse into him if he tries hard enough. He doesn’t mind Mark’s hand on his waist, doesn’t mind the one deep in his hair, doesn’t mind how hard his heart is racing, stomach twisting with excitement as he watches the older slowly open his eyes, dazed and heavenly like the first rays of light at dawn. Donghyuck wants to keep this image forever, wants to see it whenever he wakes up and whenever he goes to sleep, and it’s exhilarating when he thinks  _ maybe I will,  _ even if not every single day. The giggle that spills from his mouth is a consequence of that train of thought.

“Hmm? What’s so funny?” Mark’s voice is low, soft, and they’re so close together it rumbles across Donghyuck’s chest, too. There’s a smile growing on his pink lips, mirroring the lightness the younger feels.

“Nothing,” and he’s lying because, really, it’s  _ everything,  _ but it’s said so tenderly, and he doesn’t need to say more. “Just happy.”

Mark’s squeezes his waist, eyes glinting prettily like they alway do, and Donghyuck feels like it’s August all over again, with sun on his face and the smell of sweet fruit in the air, life slowing down to a sluggish dampness that refreshes more than it normally would. There’s rain coming, the sky is bleeding gray outside, but his room is warm and there’s flowers blooming and settling roots in his chest, reds and pinks that match the blush high on Mark’s cheekbones.

He wiggles around, suddenly timid as a question arises in his head. Mindlessly, he twirls a strand of Mark’s hair around his finger, trying to feign nonchalance. “So. Aren’t you going to ask?”

The older definitely knows what he means by the twitch of his lips, a funny little nervous thing, but he still has his hands on his body and that softness around his eyes that tells Donghyuck he’s all open for him, splayed out with his emotions ready to be swallowed whole by the younger, warily letting his guard down just for him. Always for him.

“Do I need to?” Teasing, but kind; tender-hearted, a little loose-lipped now. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, weakly slaps his shoulder in retaliation. Mark places a kiss on the edge of his jaw, soft-mouthed and brighter than the entire world, hand squeezing his waist again, another one holding his lean neck like he can’t get enough of his lover’s tender skin (and he probably really can’t). “Lee Donghyuck, Lee Haechan, do you,” he kisses a little lower, the junction of mandible and neck, and breathes against his ear, “want to be my boyfriend?”

Donghyuck doesn’t know what sends the shudders down his body, if the hot breath against his skin or the words spoken in Mark’s desire-thickened voice, but he feels his body tighten in goosebumps and he’s sure Mark feels it too, his hand tracing slow circles in the tendons of his neck as he waits for his reply. There’s no rush, no tension, and Donghyuck has time to catch his breath as he balances himself on top of the older’s thighs. He vaguely wants to prank him, to jokingly say  _ no _ and go back to kissing him silly, but Mark trusts him, eyes open and heart exposed, and it’d be a low blow to do something like that. Instead, Donghyuck pulls back to stare at him, at those inky black eyes so, _ so  _ full of adoration it pains him. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I want to be your boyfriend.”

There’s really no way to know if  _ this,  _ whatever it is and might be, will work out until the end, but he has his best friend with him and that’s all he needs: Mark Lee with his songbird voice and windchime giggle, too-big eyes and gentle, gentle hands. The smile on his face could feed him for days, could pull out any sadness in Donghyuck’s heart, and he would ignore the entire world’s judgment if it meant getting to make this boy happy for the rest of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope at least a few parts of it make sense lol  
> please don’t forget to leave a comment if you can!! helps me so much and encourages me to keep writing ^^  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/pyuhc) | [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/dawnfruits)


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